The $50 million will mean people living in 200 rural and Indigenous communities will have access to high-speed internet.

“Better access to high-speed internet helps close the digital divide between urban and remote areas and opens up countless opportunities for people throughout B.C.,” said Joel McKay, CEO of the Prince George-based Northern Development Initiative Trust, in a news release.

Better internet will allow small communities to grow, the release said, by attracting more residents, creating jobs, and allowing more young people to stay in their hometowns, close to their families.